Improvement in wire fences



T H. SPEAKMAN. Wire Fences.

$10,153,390 Y PatentedJuI-y 21,1874.

a STA PATENT QFFIC'E.

THOMAS H. SPEAKMAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WIRE FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,390, dated July 21, 1874; application filed May 29, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. SPEAKMAN, of the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Portable Wire Fence, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to portable wire fences,

and apparatus for putting together the panels to form the fence, which consists, as may be seen by reference to the annexed drawing, Figure 1-which is a View, in perspective, of two' panels of a fence put togethe r-of four separate parts First, the'end or strainin g posts A A; second, triangular frames or horses, (one of which is represented, marked 13,) which fill the place of intermediate posts third, the panels, two of which are represented, marked 0 G fourth, common screw-bolts, D, about half an inch in diameter and seven inches long, while the apparatus for constructing the separate panels is shown in Fig. 2 with a panel formed thereby.

To make the end posts, I take two pieces of plank of durable wood, say, six inches wide and six feet long, and place the end of one, E, on top of and across the other, F, at right angles, form in g a T, the upper one being leveled up by one or more pieces, G, put under when used. Through the intersection of these I mortise the post A, and brace to the main stem and each arm of the T by braces I J K. If for a corner-post, one arm, J, should be longer than the other. The triangular horses B I make of strips of pine, or other wood, about an inch and a quarter thick and four inches wide, a strip sixteen feet long making three of the uprights. The crosspieces 13 may be of inch stuff, and they are put together with clinch-nails. The panel 0 I make about sixteen feet long. The pieces L at the ends should be of tough wood, an inch or more thick by three inches wide, and stand fiatwise with the posts. The intermediate slats M, which connect the wires N, may be of inch pine, say, three and a half inches wide, the wires N passing through them edgewise. There may be any number of parallel strands of wire, according to the kind of stock intended to be stopped. The wire N of each panel is made a continuous strand, passing through the wooden parts from end to end and top to bottom, each end of the continuous strand being fastened by looping around the next adjacent strand on the outside of the end pieces L; and short bends in the wires are to be obviated by rounding ofi' the wood at the wireholes on the outside of the end pieces L. To construct the panels, I prepare a rectangular frame, represented by Fig. 2. The sides P may be of boards or scantling, sixteen feet long, and the ends of boards Q nailed to, and projecting two or three inches above, the sides. Slits a, corresponding to the wires N, are out in the ends with a saw down to within half an inch of the top of the side pieces.

The end pieces L of the panels being bored for the wires and the screw-bolts D, one is put at each end of theframe, the wire-holes corresponding to the slits, and resting on strips 0 of the same thickness nailed against the ends of the frame, and held laterally by other strips, R, nailed against and rising an inch or two above the first strips 11, forming a trough. The middle slats M, three or more to each panel, being bored, are also put to their places and held laterally by pins 0, as shown. The wire N is then carried through and back and forth from top to bottom, and the ends fastened into itself, as before described. The intermediate slats are fastened to the wires by pins driven in the wire-holes, and the panel, being finished, is lifted ofi' the frame to give place to another, and so on.

To put up the fence, one of the end posts is first anchored to the ground at the point of starting by fastening it with wire or a chain, S, to a post or stake, T, firmly set in the ground at an angle, as shown, Fig. 1. The first panel is then bolted to this post, and the forward end connected to the second panel by the screw-bolts D,whicli pass through the triangular horse B placed between, the nut being only screwed up their own thickness or less. The other panels are then set up, one by one, in the same manner, and drawn as tight as they can be by hand and temporarily braced at intervals to retain the tension thus I gained. When the other end is reached connection is made to the other end post, which is then fastenedto the ground like the other, and drawn as tight as can be. The wires are then stretched at pleasure by tightening up the screw-bolts.

The panels are readily carried from place to place on a floor of sixteen-feet boards, laid on a cart or wagon.

Having described my invention I claim-- 1. The apparatus shown in Fig. 2, consisting of side pieces I? P, with pins 0 c, the end pieces Q Q, With slits a, and the supporting and holding troughs R R, the whole forming a frame for the construction of portable panels, substantially as described.

2. A portable fence-panel, formed of end pieces L L, intermediate uprights M and a continuous wire, N, as herein specified.

THOS. H. SPEAKMAN.

Witnesses:

NATHAN PENROSE, WILLIAM BARNS. 

